New year's at Claire de Lune, Byward Market - December 31, 2004/January 1, 2005.
CLOSED

Hubby and I joined a group of friends this year at the Claire de Lune. It will probably be the last New Year's Eve out for a while, so we were totally excited to do it up right with a 7 course meal. We chose CdL over Empire Grill because we knew more people, but I'm not sure we had the better meal - although there were some very good parts.

The reservation was for 8:30 pm. When we got there, there were still people finishing up the previous sitting - and they got kicked out (ouch!) to make way for the later sitting.

Once seated, we started with a little nibbly - it looked like some kind of seafood pate in a vol au vent type pastry cracker.

We then moved into drinks and the first course: Malpèque oysters Rockefeller. In one shell was the oyster (mine was not sliding out nicely) and in the other was some warm melted cheese. That went down rather quickly, so I was glad to see the next course..Small game consommé, served with wild mushroom wontons: savoury, warm and beefy.

We were given a choice of three items for the third course: I chose the Stilton and escargots in a crisp filo tulip. The escargots were tasty - I have a vague memory of when I was a child of finding them weird, but this time they just tasted like mushroms. Which, ironically, was what was served to my veggie friend. Hubby chose the Wild salmon served three ways - smoked, seared and tartare. I don't think I missed a thing, even though I like salmon.

Prior to course #5 (the main course) was the palate cleanser: Champagne and blood orange sorbet. I could taste both the champagne and the blood orange juice, and I really enjoyed it.

The main course was also a choice of three. Not feeling very turned on by pheasant, venison or tuna, I went with the Lobster Thermidor. I ate most of it, but left the parts that I could not identify as white lobster meat (I have a feeling I missed out here).

By that point, it was very close to midnight and we were all feeling very full. It was at that point that course #6 arrived: Heart of Boston lettuce with raspberry vinegar. Not very exciting, much the way that Claire de Lune's approach to ringing in the New Year was very ho-hum.

I was a little disappointed with the way Claire de Lune handled the festivities. Not only was bad music BLARING throughout the dinner (70's-80's pop) but they didn't really give a big heads' up or countdown to New Year. They just flicked off the lights, and then flicked them back on again. Sure they handed out a choice of noisemaker, hat or lei (we paid HOW MUCH for this??), but I think I would have a) timed the dinner service better so that we were done salad a few minutes before midnight and b) made a bigger deal about the event. Isn't that why people go out??

2005 at Claire de Lune redeemed itself with dessert: I chose Double chocolate torte with mint scented crème Anglaise...heaven. Chocolately, but not too sweet. Just the way I like it.

Dancing to the crappy music carried on until 2 am, at which point we came home. Many people were impressed with my ability to be alert and energetic, despite pregnancy. I was happy to stay out as well.

Dinner at the Works on Bank Street, December 14, 2004.

Well, it certainly has been a while since I posted here. But it's time to start again - and I think this time I am going to try and be more consistent. I love going out for food. And this is a good way to diarize my life as well.

So - the Works - I heard about it from one of my colleagues, who loves burgers (what a guy). It used to be a place called Bumpers - a bit of a divey bar where we saw Casey Comeau and the Halfmilers play quite often. I picked it mostly because I know burgers are one of the few meat meals I can handle since becoming pregnant.

The transition was incredible. I couldn't believe how much space there is. I think most of the space that seemed new was the space in the back for the kitchen - I never saw that. They kept the little nook off to the back where the stage used to be.

My hubby and I sat up near the front. It felt a little jammed in, but surprisingly, I didn't feel like I was eavesdropping on the conversations of the tables nearby. The place was pretty busy too, despite the fact we were there fairly late (around 8 pm).

They sat us quite quickly and handed us a menu. What a selection! I never knew you could put peanut butter and cream cheese (or was it sour cream) on a burger. I think there had to be 50 different kinds of burgers. I was also pleased to see that they have a way of donating back to the community via their Bluesfest burger. It always warms my heart to do business with local companies that care like that.

I played it pretty safe and ordered the McWorks burger -- standard lettuce, tomato and cheese. My hubby went for the teriyaki burger. We both ordered the chipotle sauce as the side to our fries. The waitress said it was the best one.

It took a while for the burgers to arrive, but we had been warned about that, so we enjoyed the drinks they served in the 2 cup measuring glasses (ah, the gimmick). To feel healthy, I had a raspberry pineapple juice. My hubby also had beer.

When the burgers came, we mowed down on them pretty quickly. They were good. 8 ounces of meat - still a little juicy. We both chose the wholewheat bun--again, an attempt to be healthy. I don't typically eat that much meat, but I came pretty close to finishing it. I left a somewhat rare part near the end.

After we were done, we paid the bill and they gave us a Works buck - good for our next meal after January 15th. I would definitely go back. I loved the atmosphere -- old, young, friends and families, students and professionals. It was clean, it was funky -- the whole thing is very well put together. I might even be adventurous next time and try one of the more wacky burgers.

The Barley Mow, Kanata

I go to the Barley Mow every Friday for lunch with work colleagues. They were there on opening day 5 years ago and they have been going ever since.

Now that it's been almost 2 years I've been going to the Mow -as it is affectionately know as by the regulars - every Friday, I have a list of things I really like about the place:

- Lori: She's the smiley blond featured in one of the articles about the Mow. I can't say enough good things about her. She provides stellar friendly service - and probably everyone else who works there follows her example.
- the daily menu board: After two years, you are bound to have tried everything on the menu, with varying degrees of success. The daily menu board gives everyone a chance to experiment with ingredients on hand. Most times I opt for this.
- they way they provide the service: each table is not assigned a particular waitress. Rather, they have this cool system where everyone does rounds and watches all the tables. They know who has ordered drinks (the coasters will be on the tables) and lunch is brought to you by whoever is free. There may be other finer intracacies than that, but as a customer, it's just great to know that you can count on them all.

I've also been to the Barley Mow on Bank Street, but I find it just doesn't have the same atmosphere. Maybe it has a lot to do with the fact that my colleagues have established the very friendly relationship that comes with being long time regulars (how many other customers does Lisa invite to tip cows?). I think that it also has to do with the space - the Bank Street Mow feels very cramped.

In any case, whether you eat off the regular menu or you try their daily specials, the staff at the Kanata Barley Mow definitely make me feel welcome there any time!!

Sushi 88, Somerset Street, Ottawa - June 17, 2004

Hubby and I stopped in here for a quick bite on our way home from one of the pre-election debates.

Small, bright, and clean, they offered an interesting selection of sushi, sashimi and other Japanese restaurant standards.

We started out with a Japanese beer, and a water. Typically I order tea, but it was a warm night. The tropical sushi (avocado, salmon and pineapple) caught our eye so we ordered that along with a batch of shrimp and veggie tempura.

Service was a bit slow - my guess was that the waiter/owner was a casualty of a high tech layoff who hasn't quite got the gist of reading customer signals. But he was very friendly and accomodating.

The food was good - although I still don't understand why people tempura raw onions - I know it's cheap and it balances out the overall cost of the veggies, but if they aren't eaten, isn't it a waste?

(and I know this restaurant cares about that, because he gave us the option of not having rice if we were not going to eat it)

They also included some unidentifiable vegetable (daikon root?) that was very tough and bland, even with the tempura batter.

Overall cost, however, was reasonable. I'd go back.

Pho-Lin, Sargent Street, Winnipeg - Saturday, October 18

Yeah - not an Ottawa restaurant. Best darn Vietnamese food I have had ever. Mango rice paper rolls!

Need I say more?

Go!

Breakfast at the Fergus Inn Bank Street @ Belmont
FERGUS INN is now GEORGETOWN PUB

My hubby likes weekend brunches. It stems from when he was a student, and all his friends got together for brunch instead of dinner because they had no money.

Times have changed, and we can afford dinners out now. And since this brunch cost more like $30, instead of the $3 (or $6 per couple) that it might have cost then (which really was not THAT long ago), I think I prefer a good dinner.

Anyhow, the real reason for this post is my opinion of Fergus food. In a word -- inconsequential. Or bleah. Take your pick.

Menu: pretty standard pub breakfasts - eggs, eggs and more eggs. I'm not an egg fan at the best of times, but I appreciate a good poached egg. What's a girl got to do to get restaurants to serve more waffles and fresh fruit?? (I have to go to a place like Cora's or Ada's. )

I splurged a little and chose orange juice and eggs florentine. Every time I see this on a menu, I remember my own brunch experiences as a student @ UBC in Vancouver and the time we visited the Coq D'Or, where waiters gave a new meaning to the word "obsequeous".

I was sorely disappointed though. The eggs were a little runny, and the bed of spinach they sat on left a very funny aftertaste in my mouth. The english muffins were untoasted, which left them tasting more than a little cakey. I thought it was standard to toast english muffins, but maybe that's my own bastardization of it.

Orange juice: they ruined it. It was syrupy and acidic at the same time. Service was average.

All in all, a very mediocre experience.